Grigory Svirsky (1921–2016)

This was a detailed look at the affects of anti-Semitism in the postwar Soviet Union, as evidenced by the personal experiences of the author -- a World War II veteran, journalist and writer -- and his wife -- a brilliant chemist who lost her entire family in the Holocaust. Time and time again they were ignored, passed over for jobs, shouted at in the street, and suffered outright persecution for "Line 5: Nationality" on their passport. Svirsky wrote with righteous rage about how the Communist government was betraying the ideals of Lenin, who had written against anti-Semitism.

It was a good book but it did ramble and lacked direction. I think it could have used another pass at the editor's table. The first eighty-some pages, describing Mrs. Svirsky's experience in Moscow during the war, were much better than the remainder.… (more)